Local Small Business Optimization Strategies

Local Small Business Optimization Strategies

Ever since Google made changes to their search algorithm, and introduced Google+, small business are benefitting more. The key change that Google made is their ability to provide search results based on location. This has improved the overall search experience for people because now when they search commands like – “Italian restaurant”, “banks”, and “flower shop”, you’ll find what’s close by. However, for small businesses to feel the positive effects of these changes, it’s important they optimize their websites correctly. It’s important they, add the right keywords and data so search engines pick-up on them when displaying search results.

I decided to do some research, and provide you with the best local optimization tips. This way if you’re a local business, you can start making changes right away. Let’s get started and your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

The Right Keywords

When someone is searching a towing company, and they’re located in Los Angeles, it’s important as a business owner you have those keywords placed within your pages. This will let Google know that you’re a business which offers this type of service, and have a business located within the region. First, how does Google track where the searcher is located?

First, they look specifically at the keywords typed into the search bar, and secondly, where they are typing from because the browser does have its own IP address delegated. Both will ensure the results obtained are as relevant as possible, however, the owner of the business must do their part too.

When optimizing your website, it’s important you have the address in place, and keywords like “Los Angeles” and “Towing” in the URL, on the page, and in the title of the page. The best practice is to choose keywords which relate to your business well so when Google indexes your page, you’ll be able to show up in the search results.

Google Business Listing

As a small business, it’s very important to create a small business page on Google. Start by submitting your business to Google, and optimizing the description, name, and adding all the other relevant information. Why is this even more important now than before? Simple, it’s because now displays the local business high within the search results when searching. Just look at the example below when I did a search for “Italian restaurants” –

You can see how the nearest restaurants to me showed up first in the results. These are all connected to Google Business only because the owners added them by creating a page. Head over to Google Business, and create a page for free.

Citations

It’s important to add your business to local directories which are great for traffic, but also brand awareness. As Google starts to see your business more within directories, it starts to increase your value slowly increasing your rankings within the SERP’s. This doesn’t have to be hard because you can hire someone to go through adding your business to other directories. For example, head over to Fiverr.com and purchase a gig for $5.00 for 10-15 citations, and that’s all you really need to get started. However, focus on quality sites because these add most of the value quickly.

Select the Right Categories

Have you noticed when adding your business to directories, Google, and other business sites, you’ll always be asked what category your business belongs too? The reason is quite simple, it’s because doing this allows the search engine to understand more about your business. For example, when someone’s searching “Italian food”, they can be searching for food equipment, restaurants, chefs, etc. However, by simply stating what category your business belongs to, it’ll diffuse a lot of confusion…right?

The next time you are adding your site anywhere, it’s important to list the right category so things stay smooth, and clear always.

Final Thoughts

These are my top small business optimization strategies so start following them right away. They are very easy to follow, and the results can be amazing in a very short period. If you simply don’t have the time to do all this yourself, then hire someone who is experienced to get the job done for you. But, ask to see their work, and get a breakdown of their experience so you know the person you hired knows what they are doing.

Hi everyone! My name is Rizvan Ullah and my blog Ranktactics provides internet marketers with tutorials on traffic generation, social media marketing, product reviews and case studies. Check out Top WebHosting Providers for bloggers, and CDL practice tests to follow another one of his passions.

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10 Website Templates That Will Boost Your Web Project

Website templates are a great option in case you want to create a website and save a lot of working hours and money. The last thing you want to do is launch a business plan and have everything ready to go, but then realize you need to design and code your site before getting everything online.

Whether your focus is on using WordPress, hiring a custom designer, or even going with a basic site template to get started — you need to have an idea of where you want to get to, and how to get there.

Before jumping forward with this process, it’s always a good idea to take a look at some of the best website templates floating around the internet today. This is especially true if you are looking to promote a service or application-base business, as there are many custom themes and templates to choose from.

The web development market is huge nowadays and you can find both multipurpose websites and web projects for a specific business. Moreover, you can choose among website templates with various design variations. And of course, they all come at various prices.

You will also want to find a website template that is both mobile and SEO friendly. Even with WordPress being fully functional right out of the box, sometimes it’s better to choose a pre-made or premium site template that is already super fast loading and SEO optimized.

This is something StudioHawk SEO often recommended to their growing list of clients, who are either coming to them for SEO and mobile optimization tips, or with basic questions on why their site isn’t ranking in Google yet.

“SEO is a clear marketing objective, but all often, it’s often lumped into content creation and marketing as well. If you want to have a clear and set objective for your SEO, you need to have a working plan and strategy in place as well. At the same time, even with a great SEO strategy and plan in place, you also need to make sure your site is fast loading and fully optimized for Google and Mobile as well. While there are many components to running your business, SEO is the expertise and passion for most SEO agencies in the world today — which is why it’s also one of the most outsourced tasks a business can hand off and measure ROI.”

No matter if you are starting from scratch or trying to scale your site and business reach, you need to make sure both your site and SEO strategy are working together. There are also plenty of Google tools that can help with the verification of your site speed, mobile compatibility, and overall optimization as well.

With all of these moving components in mind, this is why it may be hard to find a good template that checks off all of the key points we’ve mentioned — which is also why we decided to help you with this mission. We made a list of 10 most advanced and well-developed templates. And you can check each of them on a product page to see what the include. Moreover, you can check the demo of the design and UI features. Moreover, they come at a fair price. They also vary in purpose. Some will be a great tool for many your web projects and others will be great for a specific business like hotels, real estate and so on. Yet, of course, you can edit them and make suitable for various businesses.

Due to the well-developed HTML5 code, these website templates are reliable and responsive. So check our products, go to the product page and find a new development tool for your business.

Real Estate Multipurpose HTML5 Website Template

This multipurpose HTML5 template will be a great addition for any web developers’ library. It is clean, eye-catchy and well structured. The developer put an effort to present you this particular template as a great base for real estate companies. Yet, it is fully editable and you can create any website you wish. Moreover, it is easy to reach your audience and advertise your products because Real Estate HTML5 Website template is a highly responsive template. It works an all devices and runs perfectly on Google, Firefox, Safari, and other browsers. All you need is to fill pre-developed pages with your content and you are ready-to-go.

Dynamics – Industrial Multipage HTML5 Website Template

In order to be successful modern industrial companies have to be online too. It is a great way to boost your client base and present your products for a wide audience. Specially for such companies, our coders developed a Dynamics HTML6 Website Template. It is very responsive due to valid HTML5 coding and works perfectly on various platforms and gadgets. It has bright and eye-catchy design developed to make a great presentation for your products, services, and team. It also includes pre-built pages and many UI elements. And if you want to sell something you can do it with a website developed with Dynamics too.

DreamSoft – Software Development Company Multipage Website Template

A software development company must have a well-developed website. It s a must-have because your customers will judge your company depending on your website too. If it is terrible and has many bugs, then you may lose a few customers. And our developers know how to avoid this situation. They developed a DreamSoft HTML5 template specially for software developments company. It is highly responsive due to valid code. And you can change any part of it to make more suitable for your business. With this template, you can develop a blog. And due to the well-structured gallery, you can present images in the most preferable way.

Brave Theme – Multipurpose HTML Website Template

Brave Theme is a multipurpose HTML5 template that is ready to provide you with many options. It includes 100+ HTML pages developed for various purposes. And it is easy to edit them if you want to play with design. Moreover, this template includes 15 niche layouts and more than 150 UI Blocks. And if you want to boost the design of your website it will be easy due to included visual effects and elements.

And due to Novi builder, you can simply drag and drop elements. Brave Theme also provides you with a blog and many blog layout. You can also use social options to keep in touch with clients.

ALF’s – Personal Page Modern Multipage HTML Website Template

Need a website for your personal page? No problem. We got you covered. ALF’s Personal page is a multipage HTML5 template developed to present you and your products/services in the best possible way. Developers made this template for blacksmiths, yet you can edit it to fit your business. It is easy to edit a website developed with ALF’s. Template. And you will find many included content useful for editing. It has visual elements and effects, U elements and blocks, google fonts, CSS3 animations, and other stuff. Moreover, due to Bootstrap 4 your website will adapt to any dimensions on users tablet or smartphone.

Metric – Web Development Creative Multipage HTML Website Template

We know how important it is to create an atmosphere of trust to get more clients. And when it comes to online activities a well-developed website is the most reliable tool to make your business attractive. And if you need a website for a web development company, then you have to check the Metric HTML template. It has a creative design that includes a lot of original visual elements and effects. For example, Carousel and Accordion visual effects. Or a creative background. You will also like cool CSS3 animations, portfolio pre-developed page, newsletter feature and a huge set of UI elements.

Pelicor Floor – Flooring Services Multipage HTML5 Website Template

Developed specially for flooring services companies Pelicor HTML5 template has all you need to promote your services. It has a bright neutral design, yet at the same time, it is eye-catchy and well-structured. At first, it has 25 pre-developed HTML pages and you can use all of them Just feel them with your content and You can use them to tell more about previous projects and team. Or you can blog about new materials or company news. And if you have products for sale then you will like included e-commerce feature. And if you have some questions then address them to 24/7 support team.

The Future – Web Design Multipurpose HTML5 Website Template

If you want to develop a website for design agency then check out The Future HTML5 website template. It is attractive, creative and eye-catchy. Our developers created this product in order to help you present your services in the best way. Yet, this template includes 400 ready to use elements for decoration you can change it as you wish. And if you want something ready-to-use then you have a choice among 60+ HTML Templates. It has a huge set of UI elements and blocks, contact form, google maps and full documentation.

Race – Sports Event Creative Multipurpose HTML5 Website Template

Sports industry grows rapidly last decade and if you want to create a successful sports business then you need a good website. It allows you to reach new clients and present them with your products. And the Race HTML5 template is a perfect option for you. You can develop an online store too due to e-commerce features. It is also highly responsive and works constantly and without issues on various devices and gadgets. It is also well-optimized for fast work. And if you want to advertise your products then you can blog about them or use social options. And when it comes to design you can use visual effects and cool CSS3 animations.

Mingo – Delivery Services Multipage Clean HTML Website Template

Mingo is a website template developed for delivery service. It has all the necessary features and clean, yet attractive design. It will be great in case you want to advertise your product and attract new customers. It is multipage template and you can use these pages to tell more about your company, services, and team. In addition, you can use a blog to advertise your services. And when it comes to design you will get included images, cool animations, and visual effects. Moreover, it is highly responsive and SEO friendly.

Conclusion

This list of the best website template sites includes top HTML5 products for your business. They are reliable and responsive. And due to well-developed code they are responsive and fast. In addition, you will get UI elements and blocks, cool animations, blog, google maps, and e-commerce features. They have even more features so check the product page to see more. And if you have some questions then address them to our 24/7 marketplace support.

When Your Small Business Should Start a Blog

Blogging is one of the most reliable methods of making a name for yourself as a startup. It is a valuable tool that helps you connect with your target audience, amass followers through a lead capture strategy, and put the brand out there through content promotion; such as social media posts, newsletters, and guest blogging.

It’s not so much a question of ‘if’ your brand should be leveraging the power of content marketing, but more of a question of ‘how’. With so many different options to choose from, it’s not just about creating new content and placing it on your site — it’s also about making sure you are effectively promoting it in the process.

Keep in mind that it’s not really a question of whether you need a blog or not—it’s when you’re going to build a blog for your business’s website. Without a blog, you can’t really prove your expertise in your industry and win the trust of your target audience. According to statistics, 81% of online consumers trust blogs for advice. A blog may also drive purchase intent and helps you unlock a higher conversion rate for your website.

Aside from connecting with your target audience, a blog will also fuel your SEO efforts by giving web crawlers more content to index. The more blog posts you publish, the more exposure your site gets.

How Soon Should You Start a Blog?

Granted, you do need to prepare the foundations of a successful blog first before you begin to produce content. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a professional designer to set up a beautiful site. A CMS like WordPress can provide you with brilliant themes and useful plugins to put together a fully-functional site; all without writing a single line of code.

Once you have everything set up and customized, make sure to get on with blogging as soon as possible. This 2016, 76% of B2B marketers say they will increase their blog content production this year. However, successful blogging requires a ton of research and planning. On top of writing the actual blog posts, you will also spend a lot of time looking for topic ideas, getting-to-know your target audience, and devising a solid keyword strategy. Here are some of the best tips you need to remember when blogging:

Write for Your Audience

First and foremost, remember that you need to blog for people—not for machines. The reason behind this problem is because some marketers only choose to blog for SEO. However, remember that search engines now prioritize the reading experience of users when it comes to determining the SERP rankings of content. While they still take into account the overall quality of written content, they also consider other factors such as bounce rate, page loading speed, session duration, and other indicators of user engagement level.

A rule of thumb is to develop personas for your target audience. Identify the information they need, understand their problems, learn their content preferences, and provide the necessary courses of action to help them. A content research tool like BuzzSumo will help you learn more about the type of content that’s popular in a specific industry.

“Don’t focus on having a great blog. Focus on producing a blog that’s great for your readers,” says Brian Clark of Rainmaker Digital.

Invest in Custom Content

When learning the content preferences of your target audience, you are often required to explore other content formats such as infographics, eBooks, explainer videos, and slideshows. According to statistics, 90% of online consumers prefer custom content while 60% feel more “connected” with brands after discovering custom content from their website.

Keep in mind that your brand image is on the line with every custom content you publish. You need the help of professional producers and graphics designers to make killer content for your blog audience. While setting up a blog can be cheap, you might as well consider getting a business loan to fuel your custom content creation efforts.

Lastly, remember that you need to focus on the flow of your content and walk your readers through every step. Doing so will help build relationships with your readers and establish your brand as an authority. Also mention the key takeaways at the beginning or by the end of a blog post to improve retention.

“Content marketing and custom content are customer relationship processes that require unique and well-crafted content. Whichever approach you take, you need to invest either your time or money in content creation,” says Neil Patel of NeilPatel.com.

Be Consistent with an Editorial Statement

A lot of companies overlook the importance of having a clear editorial statement that keeps content development in sync with a brand voice. It helps make your content distinguishable amongst the internet’s vast sea of resources and keep your content team in the same page. This is something you should always keep in mind when creating content for your blog.

To identify your editorial statement, focus on supplementing the three key parts: the target audience, the deliverables, and the main goal. To help you understand this process, below is an example editorial statement for an SEO blog:

“Your editorial mission is something you—and everyone on your team—need to internalize. It is the measuring stick by which you evaluate everything you do,” says Michele Linn of Content Marketing Institute. Make sure to follow his advice!

Changing Workplaces Use New Apps to Guide Productivity

The last decade reveals a significant change in the workplace environment due to new technology and the ability to convince employers that talent can work remotely and that they can allow and even encourage flexibly in the work environment. Now that the new dynamic of work is becoming accepted across more industries and business segments, the work environment is continuing to evolve as more technology is developed to guide productivity and shape collaborative processes.

Working in these new ways has made it possible to get more done and has contributed to better work/life balance, but it has also created new challenges in terms of maintaining employee motivation and connection to the company. However, technology is now working to address those challenges that remote workers face and to help provide a tighter network and sense of belonging to a company, despite where the work is being conducted.

From apps to software platforms, the changing workplace now has more tools that encourage more companies to alter where they expect their talent to work. Here are a few examples:

Asana provides a way to create and delegate tasks. It provides a way to chat within each task so conversations can take place while working, and attachments can be added or taken from Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive. There are calendar features, dashboards, and to-do lists. Asana proves you don’t have to be in the office to take care of any daily tasks.

This is another approach to working with anyone on a remote basis, especially in a team-oriented environment. All information is available to everyone on the team, including documents, notes, and plans in a format that can be easily searched. Gliffy integration is another feature that provides for a way to do wireframes quickly.

Taskworld helps you to manage projects and stay on top of tasks and subtasks. Plus, it has an evaluation feature so you can measure and give feedback on job performance, which is still important regardless of the changing workplace structure.

This tool provides an effective way to screen share meetings as well as conduct easy video conferencing. Join.me proves that there really isn’t a need to commute in to the office for a meeting anymore, saving considerable time that can be spent on something much more productive.

While Slack is getting a lot of attention for what it offers in terms of a collaborative tool for remote workers, Flowdock has similar features as well as integrates with a lot of other cool apps you might already be using in your new workplace, such as Jira, GitHub, Basecamp, Asana, Assembla, Trello and many more.

In seeking an affordable, yet powerful CRM system that provides a way to organize and track all prospects and contacts as well as features that assist you with project management. It also offers a social CRM, which enables you to locate the social profiles of all your contacts in an efficient way without spending hours trying to sort through them.

Password management is critical for every company but especially those that employ remote workers. Passing around this sensitive information is necessary but can be handled much more effectively with a tool like Last Pass. Each employee has their own vault with the passwords they need to sign in remotely or access any type of cloud-based system the company uses.

Outro

Outro is a referral automation platform that speeds up how you find and identify new clients, employees, and investors. To further enhance your productivity, you can also export your other data and integrate it with all major CRM software.

While it may not sound that productive to recommend an app that lets you stream live TV, you can take advantage of multitasking by staying updated on the business channels offered in PlutoTV’s line-up that cover markets, industries, regulatory environments and trends like MSNBC, CNN, Bloomberg and more.

If your company keeps inventory or has a warehouse for its products, SystemID can add greater efficiency and coordination to what often remains focused on manual processes. Instead, the use of a barcode system with integrated inventory management control offers a way to reduce costs and speed all logistical tasks.

One of the biggest discoveries about the changing workplace was the idea that people tend to work better when they regularly change the environment around them. Therefore, working from home makes a person more productive than always being at the office. Now, those working at home are discovering that, over time, the home also gets stale. Workfrom provides a source to locate other places where work can be done in your local area, such as a coffee shop, co-working space, or other tech-friendly spot.

In the push to automate many tasks within a business, Due takes on numerous jobs related to project and time management, invoicing and estimates, and payment processing. This reduces human involvement, driving higher accuracy, speed, and productivity throughout all these critical business processes tied to cash flow.

Multiple Benefits in New Apps

In working with these types of apps, remote workers and their employers will discover further benefits from this changing workplace environment, including additional productivity, enhanced motivation, lower costs and greater revenue. Many studies have been done and are being done at this time which show us that having opportunities and flexibility in ones working hours and place of work is giving an added boost to work productivity. Finding the right tools to make all this work coordinate together is guiding that productivity.